Disability Day of Mourning, 2018

We are back here once again. March 1st is the day on which we come together to mourn the death of Disabled people who have died as a result of abuse, neglect, or murder at the hands of their family or caregivers. This day was started in 2012 by the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, following the death of 22 year old George Hodgins, who was murdered in California. Since that day the list of those murdered has only grown. A consistent pattern in these deaths is the poor media coverage that accompanies them. Consistently, these murders are portrayed as mercy killings, justified by the supposed burden Disabled people place on our families, and our communities.

And, even as this list has grown there have been many names uncounted. The names of those who have died of suicide as the result of living with the consequences of ableism are not on this…

One thought on “Disability Day of Mourning, 2018”

paulshirley42@hotmail.com

AB fool talking.
I would say a big portion of disabled people who commit suicide are basically murdered too. I would give anything to ask George Hodgins what he thought of his life, no reporter even pondered the question.
ableism Ableism ABLEISM! That word I haven’t heard ’till 4 months ago once again pops up in my brain. “your use to us is your value” is the true value we live under. “everyone is special” is a lie a lot of people like to believe. A lie disabled people expose every time people have to look at them?
What are the roots of ableism, a force that makes society condone murder? While people will turn red in the face if they accidentally make a racial or sexist faux pas, these same people will tell a disabled person they would rather kill themselves rather than be like you. WHY????